Va. trial for Texas man charged in $100M fraud scheme

RICHMOND, Va. — A Texas businessman accused of defrauding hundreds of investors out of more than $100 million is going on trial in Virginia.

Adley Abdulwahab of Spring faces charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court in Richmond. His jury trial begins Tuesday and is expected to last about a week.

Abdulwahab was one of the principals in companies that bought life insurance policies from insured people at less than face value, then collected the benefits when those people died.

Prosecutors say Abdulwahab and others illegally portrayed investments in their company as risk-free, misrepresented many aspects of their business and used investor funds to finance their own lavish lifestyles.

Five others related to the case have pleaded guilty, and one was convicted by a jury.